Area woman hurt in blaze

Pat Wood listed in serious condition Monday in Seattle

PATEROS – A woman was in serious condition Monday at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle after her family’s home burned down last week.

Pat Wood, 72, suffered burns to her face and airway when the fire broke out at about 4 p.m. Friday in the back of their house, located at about milepost 4 on Highway 153.

The cause of the fire was unknown as of press time.

Wood was in the room where the fire began, according to her daughter, Tracy Miller.

Wood’s husband, 76-year-old Jack Wood, was in the kitchen when he heard the smoke alarm. He helped Pat out of the house and went back in for their dog, but was too late, Miller said. The dog, Theo, died in the fire.

Jack Wood escaped unharmed.

By the time firefighters arrived on the scene, the fire was already fully involved, according to the Okanogan County Sheriff’s Office incident log.

Response came from Okanogan Douglas County Fire District No. 15 emergency medical services and firefighters from Brewster, Methow and Pateros, as well as Okanogan County Fire District 6 from Twisp.

Pat Wood was immediately taken to Three Rivers Hospital in Brewster before being airlifted to Harborview. Doctors were able to remove her breathing tube Sunday.

Doctors are keeping her sedated and monitoring her burns to see if they’ll heal on their own or if skin grafts will be needed, Miller said.

Miller, 53, also lives in Pateros. Jack Wood is staying with the couple’s other daughter, Pam Irwin, next door while their son Terry stays with Pat in Seattle.

Terry Wood is a doctor, Miller said, and the owner of the house Jack and Pat lived in. The home was insured.

The fire district offered help to the family through the American Red Cross, but the Woods are opting to take care of themselves.

There has already been an outpouring of support for Jack from friends and neighbors, Miller said.

“He is beloved there, and we have such a wonderful community anyway,” she said.

Miller expressed gratitude for the rescue personnel.

“They were so comforting and efficient,” she said.

“Everybody worked really well together, and they fought a hard fire for a while,” District 15 emergency medical services Director Tonya Vallance said.

Eventually the family hopes to put another house in the same spot, overlooking the Methow River. It would be a fresh start for the Woods, who have been married for 55 years, Miller said.